A system that would warn Louisville residents in the event of a major emergency doesn't yet exist, but on Thursday night, city leaders updated the public on when it could become a reality.

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The meeting was held Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Southwick Community Center.

"We need to be quicker in terms of getting the information out," Mayor Greg Fischer told the crowd of several dozen residents.

Many residents had complained of a lack of communication in the hours following the explosion at Carbide Industries.

At Thursday's meeting, city leaders laid out their vision for a citywide emergency alert system. They said the system will have a call-in number for emergency information. Residents will be able to sign up for alerts via phone, text and email. The city will put out information through Facebook and Twitter. And the alerts can be tailored to each individual emergency.

"You can narrow it down to one house. You can narrow it down to a street. It can be a whole community-wide alert system. So this will enhance the readiness of the entire community," Fischer said.

Residents at the meeting were receptive. They said they just wanted to make sure they can understand what's going on.

"Maybe three sounds means shelter, two sounds means take cover or whatever. As long as everybody has the full understanding of what's going on, it will be a great system," said Darnell Crenshaw, a Rubbertown resident who was at the meeting.

But others remain unconvinced and said they still want more details.

"I think even more than the actual system, we need to know that there are standard operating procedures in place to even implement these systems," said Eboni Crenshaw, a resident and co-director of Rubbertown Emergency Action.

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of Thursday's meeting was that there was none of the animosity that marked a similar meeting back in March.

"There's been a lot of cooperation and civil dialogue and it's going to result in something that helps the community," Fischer said.

Mayor Fischer has set aside $500,000 for the new alert system in his proposed city budget. Four companies are currently being considered as candidates to install the system. Fischer said whichever company is chosed, the system should be up and running by mid-August.

There will also be another community meeting in the next few weeks at which residents will be given a demonstration on how the new system will work.